A strange set of incidents, including alleged arson, led to the arrest of a Royston man on an outstanding burglary warrant recently.

Adam Nicholas Carder, 23, 61 Ruby Lane, was arrested on the charge after several calls summoning police (two made by Carder) involving an incident with a man at his campsite behind Crossroads Church on Hwy. 29 South.

The first call connected to the arrest came in about 1:10 a.m. from someone at the Veterans’ Administration Clinic on Hwy. 29 South regarding damage to a vehicle. When officers Brandon Hanley and Jason Luke arrived, they found a black male coming out of the wood line near a burgundy Oldsmobile Cutlass parked in the rear of the back parking lot. The man told the officers that he was having vehicle trouble as he traveled on Hwy. 29 South and thought he was running out of gas, so he pulled into the VA Clinic and his brakes went out. He went through the parking lot, unable to stop, and continued down a trail into the woods. He said he left his car there in the woods and went to the nearby Golden Pantry to get gas.

He first told officers that when he returned a white male was there, stating he had damaged his campsite with his car. He said the man then threatened him with a hatchet and struck his car’s windshield with it, causing damage. As they continued to talk to the man, they determined he had not seen the other man damage his car, and could give no reason why he had drove into the woods, instead of stopping on Hwy. 29 in a well lit area in front of the clinic. The man said he only had liability insurance on his vehicle, but the officers told him that without any suspect information, he would most likely have to pay out of pocket to get his car fixed. The man then drove away saying he would find out the suspect’s name and call them later.

About 2:19 a.m., the same officers were dispatched to Ingles to meet with Carder in reference to the earlier incident with the black male. Carder told officers he was living in a tent behind Crossroads Church and that earlier tonight he was at the tent “chillin’” with two buddies when the man drove to where his tent was and asked if he had a “side post battery” because he thought his battery was going dead. Carder said he told him he lived in a tent and was unlikely to have any batteries lying around. He then asked the man to leave, and he did. A few minutes later, Carder said he and his friends left to walk to another friend’s house on Glenn Carrie Road. When he came back, he noticed his belongings had been rummaged through, and some of his canned food was missing. That’s when he called 9-1-1. The officers told Carder he first needed to contact the church, who they believed owned the property, and make sure he had permission to camp there. Carder said he did have permission. They told him to contact them if he had any more contact with the man at his campsite and they all left.

About 90 seconds later, dispatch requested officers return to Carder’s campsite because he had called to say his belongings were on fire. Officer Hanley reported that they found a large fire and that the tent was completely destroyed. The fire was spreading in the nearby grass toward the heavily populated area on Virginia Lane. After the fire was put out by Athens-Clarke county firemen, the Athens PD called the church’s pastor to the scene as the property owner. The pastor said the church had sold the property that was in Madison County (about 11 acres) to someone several years ago. He also said he did not give anyone permission to camp on that property. In the meantime, the officers had dispatch run Carder’s name and date of birth and found that he was wanted for burglary in Madison County. He was taken into custody. The black male was not located.

Other incidents on file at the sheriff’s office recently included:

•A safety checkpoint conducted by the sheriff’s office and the State Patrol on Hwy. 29 at Old Danielsville Road resulted in eight DUI arrests, two wanted persons, 23 citations and two VGCSA cases. All arrested offenders were transported to the sheriff’s office.

•A man on Jot-Em-Down Road reported that someone stole his Social Security number in order to file taxes.

•A man in Oglethorpe County reported a stolen cattle trailer. He said he had loaned the trailer to his cousins, who had picked it up about two weeks prior. He said when he called to ask them about it, they told him they forgot to tell him, but that it had been stolen from their Dixon Drive residence in Madison County. The man said one of his cousins told him he would “be glad to file the trailer on his insurance and split the money if he would not get the sheriff’s office involved.” The victim said he believes they have the trailer and are trying to file a fraudulent insurance claim.

•A woman on Adams Duncan Road reported that her ex-boyfriend has been calling her and sending text messages to her. She he dropped a dog off in her yard this past weekend. She was advised of the TPO process.

•A man on Colbert Diamond Hill Road reported that someone destroyed his mailbox, his father’s mailbox and his uncle’s mailbox. The report stated that the boxes had been pulled up and run over. The man said the suspect has done damage to his front yard in the past with a truck.

•A man on Booger Hill Road reported that a neighbor came to his residence asking for food, saying that her boyfriend stole her car the night before and she had no way to travel. She said she hadn’t called the police because she had no phone. The neighbor called 9-1-1 and she told the responding officer that her vehicle is a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis and that she believes her boyfriend took it to Jackson County.

•Officer Chad Parr was dispatched to a residence on Diamond Hill Neese Road regarding a domestic dispute between a mother and daughter. The mother said that she was arguing with her daughter because she found out that the girl had been talking to a 35-year old man, a 30-year old man and a 17-year old boy on her phone. She said the girl also thinks she might be pregnant. The girl said she has been having sex with her 20-year old boyfriend when he comes home on weekends. Neither the girl nor her mother knew the address of the boyfriend.

•A man who lives in Neese Mobile Home Park on Willis Glenn Road met an officer at Quick Pick to tell him about a domestic dispute between he and his wife the day before. He said he called his wife from work and asked her to have his lunch ready when he got home around 5 p.m. He took the food into the bedroom when he got home and she began to argue with him about why he was eating his food there. After he finished eating, he said he went to the bathroom and his wife refused to let him out. He said she moved slightly to let him by and then began to push on him and then pushed him into the wall and struck him in the ear with a phone. She also struck him on the upper back. He said he wanted a report and photos of his injuries, but did not want to file charges.

•Officer Justin Hanley went to McCannon Morris Road last week where he met with an intoxicated couple. The man also told Hanley they were intoxicated. He said that his companion had filed his tax return “about six weeks ago” and that he has not received any money from it yet. He said the same thing happened the year before. He said she came to his house in a new car so he thinks she kept his money. He did not know how much he should get back, but said it should be more than $600.

•A man on Hwy. 106 South reported that he found his back door open. He said someone took some kitchen utensils and placed them out on the porch, knocked a hole in an outside wall and tried to get onto his computer. He said his girlfriend received a voicemail from another woman earlier saying she was on her way to his home. He said he and his girlfriend have been having a dispute with this woman and her boyfriend.

•Burglary was reported on Maplewood Lane last week. A man said he came home to find his front door had been busted in. Several things were stolen and they also attempted to take the TV out of the living room.

•A Danielsville Elementary student was found with a pocketknife with a 3.5 inch long blade. He was charged with having a weapon in a school safety zone. He told the principal and his mother that he forgot he had the knife on him.

•A woman on Young Harris Road reported that someone had stolen her air compressor from her backyard.

•A woman on Arthur Road reported that someone entered an outbuilding in her yard through a small hole in the rear of the building and removed all the wiring. They also took four extension cords and the wires from several electric hand tools.

•A man on South Fourth Street said he did not receive a Nook tablet he ordered from Ebay, though records showed it was delivered by the post office.

•A man came to the sheriff’s office to turn in a wallet he found on Hwy. 98 near the Dollar General. The wallet contained $197 in cash and several bankcards. The owner was contacted to retrieve it.

•A man on Crabapple Hollow Road reported that he found six fraudulent charges on his debit card.

•A woman allegedly left Ingles grocery store with nearly $200 worth of unpaid groceries. A store manager followed her to the car and retrieved the groceries and the suspect left in a hurry. The manager said the woman comes into the store “about every other day.” A copy of the store video was to be provided to the sheriff’s office.

•A juvenile female and her mother on Fowler Freeman Road reported that someone identifying themselves as a “47 year old man” sent the girl an obscene message while she was on a teen chat room site. The “man” also said he knew where to find her.

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